25th Army (Japanese Empire)

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25th Army

JapaneseMarchSgpCity.jpg

Soldiers of the 25th Army march into Singapore.
active July 5, 1941 to August 15, 1945
Country JapanJapan Japanese Empire
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese armed forces
Armed forces JapanJapan (war flag) Japanese army
Branch of service infantry
Type corps
Strength 1941: 120,000
1944: 50,000
Insinuation South Army
7th Regional Army
Location Malay Peninsula / Sumatra
Nickname Tomi ( 富 , "wealth")
Butcher Pacific War
Supreme command
list of Commander in chief

The 25th Army ( Japanese 第 25 軍 , Dai-nijūgo-gun ) was a major unit of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1941 to 1945 . The Tsūshōgō code (military code name) of the 25th Army was wealth ( 富 , Tomi ).

history

The 25th Army was set up on July 5, 1941 under the command of Lieutenant General Iida Shōjirō and was subordinate to the Southern Army , which was entrusted with the attack operations in December 1941, early 1942. The main task after the founding of the army was the occupation of the Malay Peninsula and, after the successful completion of this task, the conquest of the British city ​​of Singapore , which was part of the Straits Settlements crown colony . In order to achieve this goal, the 25th Army was equipped with the battle-tested and for Japanese standards highly motorized 5th Division , the Garde Division (mechanized division), the 18th and 56th Divisions and comprised 125,408 men and 2,995 vehicles (of which 159 were Tanks) and 10,442 horses. On November 6, 1941, Iida was replaced by Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki .

Invasion of the Malay Peninsula

Left: The Allied communication structure
Right: The Japanese advance south on Singapore

On December 4, 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor , a convoy of a troop carrier with escort left Hainan for Thailand's southeast coast. In order to provide better logistical support for his troops, Yamashita decided not to use the 56th Division. The 5th and 18th Divisions had received advanced training for amphibious operations and were the first units to go ashore.

Landing of 5th Division during the Malay invasion.

On December 8, both divisions successfully landed at Kota Bharu and Pattani . After brief skirmishes with Thai police at Patani and an agreed ceasefire with Thailand's government, the 25th Army immediately pushed south. In the Battle of Jitra (December 11th) the 5th Division was able to decisively defeat the 11th Indian Infantry Division , with the Indian unit losing almost 2,000 men. Many of the surrendered Indian soldiers were killed by Japanese soldiers. In the battles of Kampar (December 29 - January 3), Slim River (January 7, 1942) and Muar (January 14 - 22, 1942) the British / Indian / Australian forces were again decisively defeated and had to make their way to Johore withdraw. For the 400 km long advance through the Malay Peninsula through regions with dense vegetation and dozens of bodies of water , the Japanese troops only needed 55 days. This was largely due to the extensive use of bicycles and the increased use of bridge pioneers who made rivers and streams passable not only for infantry but also for tanks (much to the astonishment of the British army command).

On January 31, vanguard of the 25th Army advanced as far as the Strait of Johor , on the other side of which lies Pulau Ujong , the main island on which the city of Singapore lies.

Singapore

On February 4, 1942, Japanese artillery began shelling the Allied positions around the Johor – Singapore Causeway , which connects Singapore with Malaya, which was destroyed by the retreating British troops . The bombardment lasted until February 8th. Then the 5th and 18th Divisions went west of the causeway on Johorestrasse, while the Guard Division crossed east of it. The first Japanese units reached the suburbs of Singapore on February 14, whereupon the British Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival , decided to surrender the following day.

Lieutenant General Arthur Percival at the surrender of Singapore on February 15, 1942

85,000 Commonwealth soldiers were taken prisoner. Together with the 50,000 soldiers lost in the Malay campaign, this was the greatest defeat of a force led by British officers. The Malay campaign, including the conquest of Singapore, had lasted 70 days.

Following the capture of Singapore, units of the 25th Army were involved in massacres of the Chinese people, in which thousands were killed. Lieutenant General Yamashita was brought to justice after the war and hanged on February 23, 1946 in the Philippines .

Sumatra

Following the successful Malaya campaign, the 25th Army served mainly as an occupation and garrison unit in Malaya and Sumatra. On March 22, 1944, it was subordinated to the 7th Regional Army and comprised only about 60,000 men.

The 25th Army was disbanded by the Daihon'ei on August 15, 1945 .

Commander in chief

Commanders

Surname From To
1. Lieutenant General Iida Shōjirō June 28, 1941 November 6, 1941
2. Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki November 6, 1941 July 1, 1942
3. Lieutenant General Saitō Yaheita July 1, 1942 April 8, 1943
4th Lieutenant General Tanabe Moritake April 8, 1943 April 15, 1945

Chiefs of Staff

Surname From To
1. Lieutenant General Isayama Haruki June 28, 1941 November 6, 1941
2. Lieutenant General Suzuki Sosaku November 6, 1941 October 7, 1942
3. Lieutenant General Nichiōeda Yutaka October 7, 1942 October 14, 1944
4th Major General Yahagi Nakao October 14, 1944 April 15, 1945

Subordinate units

1941

1944

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Fuller: Japanese Generals 1926–1945. 2001, p. 12.
  2. ↑ Silence, p. 30.
  3. ↑ Japanese 25th Army, December 8, 1941. (PDF) (No longer available online.) United States Army Combined Arms Center, formerly in the original ; accessed on December 28, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.cgsc.edu
  4. ↑ Silence, p. 8
  5. ↑ Silence, p. 80
  6. ↑ Silence, p. 92
  7. ↑ Ness, p. 39
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Iida is the family name, Shōjirō the first name.